Education

Ph.D., Texas A&M University

Background

Khalid Ballouli serves as a professor, associate department chair, and graduate program director in the David and Nicole Tepper Department of Sport and Entertainment Management at the University of South Carolina. Originally from Austin, Texas, he completed his bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees at Texas A&M University. 

Ballouli’s research interests are in the areas of sport marketing and sport consumer behavior. He has published numerous research articles appearing in peer-reviewed journals including Journal of Sport Management, Sport Management Review, and Sport Marketing Quarterly. Ballouli has supported much of his work by serving as an investigator for several grant projects, securing over half a million dollars in research funding from national and international organizations. 

Before joining the University of South Carolina, Ballouli spent six years in professional baseball as a pitcher in the Milwaukee Brewers minor league system. He played college baseball at Texas A&M University, where he received numerous honors including team captain, All-Conference, and NCAA All-Tournament. Ballouli remains active in his community by helping youth baseball organizations foster athlete and community development and often lends his time and expertise to researchers and educators in this field.

---

In the Media

Expand all

2023

• Major League Baseball rules aim for shorter games — and a bigger audience: Marketplace
• For Major League Baseball, shorter games and more action have drawn bigger crowds: Marketplace
• Interview with Professor Khalid Ballouli: SportsDegreesOnline.org

2022

• NBA Players Are Acting Up Despite $36 Million in Fines. Here’s Why: Bloomberg

2020

•  Like grandfather, like grandson: Ballouli followed Canadian no-hit throwing grandfather Dick Fowler into professional baseball: Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame

Awards / Honors

• Garnet Apple Teaching Innovation Award, University of South Carolina (2024)
• Presidential Service Award, Sport Marketing Association (2021)
• Sport Marketing Association Research Fellow (2019)
• University of South Carolina Pipeline for Academic Leaders (PAL) Fellow (2017)
• Patricia G. Moody Research and Scholarship Award, College of HRSM (2016)
• Outstanding Service Award, Sport Marketing Association (2014)

Research Interests

• Sport marketing
• Sport consumer behavior
• Sensory marketing
• Sports collectibles

Courses Taught

• SPTE 380 – Sport and Entertainment Marketing

Recent Publications

Tyrell, K., Ballouli, K., Maydeu-Olivares, A., & Goldsmith, A. L. (in press). Sports NFT adoption intentions among prospective non-users: UTAUT2 antecedents in an emerging digital asset market. Sport, Business, Management: An International Journal, 1-30. https://doi.org/10.1108/SBM-11-2025-0291

Hwang, Y., Koesters, T., & Ballouli, K. (in press). Comparative study of U.S. Olympic fandom: Multi-level attachment dynamics across Summer and Winter Games. International Journal of Sport Marketing and Sponsorship, 1-30. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSMS-07-2025-0334

Hwang, Y., & Ballouli, K. (2025). Musical congruity in sports: Enhancing team branding in esports and traditional sports. Sport Management Review, 28(2), 201-231. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14413523.2024.2404722

Kim, S., Grady, J., & Ballouli, K. (2025). Navigating emerging trademarks issues for sport brands in the metaverse. International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, 26(2), 292-304. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSMS-04-2023-0061

Kazmierski Davie, G., & Ballouli, K. (2025). Development and transition in crisis: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Division I college athletes. Journal of Athlete Development and Experience, 7(2), 71-88. https://doi.org/10.25035/jade.07.02.01

Gao, F., Heere, B., Hwang, Y., & Ballouli, K. (2024). The dark side of national team identity: Ethnocentrism and xenophobia. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, 16(3), 353-371. https://doi.org/10.1080/19406940.2024.2320647

Kazmierski-Davie, G., & Ballouli, K. (2024). Identity dynamics in collegiate Olympic athletes post-Tokyo 2020: A pre-post study. Journal of Intercollegiate Sport, 17(1), 77-97. https://doi.org/10.17161/jis.v17i1.21130

Hwang, Y., Ballouli, K., Bernthal, M., & Choi, W. (2024). Making sense of stadium stimuli-local image fit in the sport venue: Mediating effects of sense of home and touristic experience on home and visiting spectators. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 33(1), 47-65. https://doi.org/10.32731/SMQ.331.032024.04